In an act of architectural brilliance, the Duel on Vivian block of flats opposite the School of Architecture appears to be not only a green building (avocado green, or mushy pea green) with prefabricated external cladding (that I’m sure they will get around to finishing the corners on one day), but also appears to have gone all Richard-Rogers-style High-Tech on us, with the south facade featuring…
Fish
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Maximus
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For one day only, – Sunday, today, you can see the city barricaded off. By tomorrow, it’ll be gone. It’s part of the Litmus series of One Day Sculpture, and this time has been brought to you by artiste duo Heather and Ivan Morison. It’s called the Journee des Barricades, and to me, seems site specifically reacting to the inspired sculpture outside the Athfield renovation of…
Maximus
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This city of ours has some fabulous little pedestrian byways and shortcuts which make walking at times a slightly smug activity – those few moments that cars don’t have an advantage over foot traffic, and steps which even challenge seasoned mountain bikers. We even enjoy the occasionally misplaced carpark – the ones which were bought to be built on but the developer’s luck has turned, the…
Maximus
3 Min Read
It’s good to see that there is a decent amount of interest in urban matters amongst Wellingtonians, with a couple of recent posts sparking off some healthy discussion. The debate on Manners Mall about the extent of Te Aro Park and the eventual removal of the failed Oaks complex, bought to mind another potential park a bit further up Cuba St. First brought up by a…
Maximus
2 Min Read
We had another post planned for today, but if ever there was a story that this blog should be discussing, then this is it. We’re big on mythology here at Eye of the Fish – we like the improbable tale that Maui and his brothers were in a big waka and overdid it with their kai moana quota, and basically fished up Aotearoa from the depths….
Maximus
2 Min Read
Venice has been in the news lately, with the highest floods recorded for 20 years. La Serenissima has always had a penchant for the wet and the melodramatic, but their recent experience is leaving them more than wet around the edges. While floods and Spring tides have always occurred, wetting the feet of the wealthy and raising the level in the tidal lagoon well above the…
Maximus
2 Min Read
Breaking architectural news this morning is that architect Jorn Utzon has died, aged 90. BBC has full coverage here, although I suspect that most of you already know the story: Utzon won the competition for the Sydney Opera House, walked out part way through construction, and never went back to Australia. The Opera House (competition 1957, completion 1973) is now happily described as an icon…
Maximus
1 Min Read
So I was thinking to myself, as you do on a fine summer’s day like today: what is it that makes Cuba St so special, whereas Manners Mall just doesn’t cut the mustard? Is it the paving? Grey bricks just aren’t as warm and friendly as the orange hues of Cuba. Is it the architecture? Cuba’s sure is older, while Manners is newer: but is that…
Maximus
1 Min Read
Yes, tonight is the night for the architectural community, as the local Wellington region Awards for Architecture and annual knees up are being held tonight. Last year the awards went to the New Dowse, the Masterton Police Station and the Greytown Town Hall, Holiday Inn, the new Maritime Tower, Len Lye’s water whirler, the waterfront refurbishment of Shed 13, and the highly deserved award for Conservation…
Maximus
4 Min Read
As you’ve probably noticed, the WCC is canvassing for opinions on the proposed change to the bus route through Manners Mall. We’re a bit surprised how little public dialogue there has been so far on the proposal – and so we thought we’d open up a place for your informal dialogue and discussion to go. The picture above is of Manners Mall, taken on the corner…